In Guna, Madhya Pradesh, students at Vandana Convent School accused their principal of preventing them from reciting Sanskrit shloka during morning prayers on July 15. According to the students, Principal Sister Catherine took the microphone from a student and said such shlokas would not be tolerated.

The incident upset many, leading to members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and other Hindu organizations arriving at the school. Finding the main gate closed, some of them climbed the wall to enter the school premises. The school administration then called the police.

As the situation escalated, the protestors attempted to open the school gate, leading to a scuffle with the police. The protestors then sat down in the school grounds, demanding an apology from the principal and the filing of an FIR (First Information Report) against her. Principal Sister Catherine eventually came out, apologized, and after more than two hours of protest, the police registered an FIR against her.

Anoop Bhargava, in charge of Guna’s Kotwali police station, said that a case was filed based on the complaint of ABVP activist Saksham Dubey. The charges include promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintaining harmony, as well as causing hurt.

Convent schools have done severe acts such as forcing student to remove kalava from wrist, cutting of Rakhis from Hindu students’ wrists, making derogatory comments on Prabhu Sri Rama as well.